Beautify CNMI! is a coalition of concerned citizens, private groups, and government entities united to enhance the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands' natural beauty and foster community pride in its residents and visitors.

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Monday, April 16, 2007

Laulau Stream Team Update

The Laulau Watershed has been a focal point of the Beautify CNMI! campaign. Laulau Beach is one of the 3 most popular dive sites in Saipan, attracting between 50-100 local and tourist divers per day. It is also popular with local fishermen. On most days you can see people fishing with a talaya, a rod and reel, or a speargun. It is also popular on the weekends as a place to BBQ and swim.

Our activities have included testing stormwater for sediment, cleaning up illegal dump sites, restoring streams, planting trees on the hillsides to prevent erosion, and removing marine debris and litter from the beach.

We were at it again this weekend.

On Sunday, April 15, 40 volunteers from MINA, FMI, ISA CNMI, Rep. Kaipat's Office, three local families and Beautify CNMI's newest proud partner, the Filipino Gay Association, cleaned up litter and marine debris from the beaches in Laulau Bay.

The volunteers were only scheduled to clean South Laulau Beach, but they were motivated to keep on going after they finished, so they all drove up to North Laulau Beach and cleaned up the dive site and the surrounding area.

Here are a few pictures:

The total weight of all trash removed from both beaches was only 280 lbs. That is very encouraging! Although we still picked up our fair share of plastic spoons and beer cans, we are starting to see a drastic reduction in the amount of trash on the beaches!

The Filipino Gay Association has decided to co-adopt North and South Laulau Beach with FMI, American Red Cross, and the other groups lending a hand. They have pledge to bring members to the Laulau cleanups on the third Sunday of every month.

Next month's cleanup will be at North Laulau Beach, meeting at the divesite, on Sunday May 20 at 8:00 AM. Hope to see you there!